Science

What Could Go Wrong?

Fears that genetic engineering could subvert natural selection have been mostly groundless–until now.

A technique known as a “gene drive” uses molecular mechanisms to increase the inheritance of an engineered trait far above normal, all but ensuring that the offspring carry the new trait, whether harmful or not.

The highly reported CRISPR-Cas9 technology, which was introduced in 2013 and proliferated in 2016, now allows even amateurs to experiment and for low cost.

The combination of using gene drive techniques with CRISPR-Cas9 could be the release of newly created species that would, within just a dozen generations, completely push out all natural versions.